Loco for Locavores

One of today’s most popular foodie buzzwords is “locavore.” It’s used to describe a person who tries to only eat ingredients produced within 100 miles or so, but the term has already morphed to describe locally sourced cuisine, and many restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon. Before the Union Square Green Market spilled the secret, most New Yorkers had no idea farms existed so close by—some less than an hour away. Many chefs visit those suppliers found three times a week at 14th and Broadway, others make deals with farmers elsewhere, and a few even grow veggies and herbs on rooftops. Some, like Foragers Table, own their very own farms.

Foragers, which began 10 years ago as a market in Dumbo, soon purchased a farm to partially supply the store and then expanded a few years ago to a second location in Chelsea, this time with a restaurant attached that looks nothing like a rural farmstand. Enter on Eighth Avenue and you’ll find crisp, modern decor, dramatic lighting, and beautiful ever-changing displays. Press on to the back and you’ll find a dramatic room with an open kitchen and floor to ceiling windows overlooking 22nd Street. There are a couple of long, high-top communal tables with stools adjacent to the bar, but the rest of the room is devoted to standard wooden tables and Bentwood chairs.

If you can get past the cheery but haphazard service, you’ll find many delights at your table. All ingredients are organic, natural, sustainable, or ethically raised, of course. I recently enjoyed a seasonal curried cauliflower soup that grew on me with each spoonful. Regularly on the menu is a wonderful ridged and pillowy pasta in a satisfying lamb Bolognese with broccoli rabe, available as an appetizer or main course. The salmon, found only on the bargain-priced tasting menu, is incredibly moist and aromatic, served trendily with red quinoa and creamed kale. From the regular menu, the pedigreed pork chop, served with a pungent olive sauce, is problematic to cut but not at all chewy and quite enjoyable.

The varied textures of the sides made them particularly special. My chop arrived with an unbelievable polenta, which was exceptionally creamy, and a mushroom fricassee that highlighted the subtle differences in the fungi’s flavor and firmness. I also ordered the seasonal wok greens, which consisted of nicely caramelized spinach, kale, and mustard greens, all humanely farm-raised. I did feel that the flavorful greens, ranging in texture from velvety spinach to tougher kale, better complemented the pork than the mushrooms.

Foragers Table will happily substitute accompaniments to any menu item, so if you like foraging, feel free to do so either in the market or off the menu.

Foragers Table, 300 W 22nd St (Eighth Ave), 212-243-8888, foragersmarket.com.